“One day in 2015, I got an email from a stranger named Mike Carr, who lived in Pennsylvania. He told me he raced a BMW and that he’d read about my story in a magazine. He wanted to know if I’d team up with him for an endurance race at Mid-Ohio coming up. I stared at the words on my computer screen for a long time, wondering how to respond. My prosecuting attorney’s name was Michael Carr. So this stranger reaching out with the same name? I don’t know what to make of it. Finally, I typed the words: Is this a joke?”
Nope not a Joke.
That’s a quote from the 2022 book “Survival of the Fastest” – Weed, speed and the 1980s Drug scandal that shocked the Sports world, by Randy Lanier. Join us on this episode with Mike Carr and Randy Lanier along with special guest co-host GTM’er Tom Newman to tell the rest of this incredible story…
In our discussion with Randy & Mike we cover topics like:
- Mike you’re mentioned almost at the very end of the book, and the reader is left wondering… is the man who invited Randy to the track the same “former assistant US attorney” Michael Carr? If not, what’s your connection to Randy? Take us back to 2015
- Back when you were racing, especially in IMSA, there were lots of folks that were also coming up through the ranks crossing between series like TransAm and CanAm and others. Who were some of your rivals? Who were some of your racing buddies? What was it like to race with/against Derek Dell, and Break/Fix guests like Lyn St. James.
- One thing that remains unclear is your driving ability/style. Where did you learn? Just on the backroads of southern virginia? Did you have coaching over the years? Or did you just #sendit and learn on the fly?
- For me a lot of this story starting coming together at last year’s Petit LeMans, while I was down at Road Atlanta, i remembered that the Bill & Dale Wittington at one point owned Road Atlanta, and literally across the street is “Lanier Raceway” – I never really put 2+2 together, that’s not a coincidence, right?
- In BAD SPORT they show you reuniting with Charles Podesta; do you still hang out with any of the “old crew” – what about Allan? What about Pam?
- You see sometimes in sports organizations when something like this happens, people are “stripped of their titles” – do your records, wins and championships still stand?
- What happened to the Blue Thunder, March Chevy GTP cars? Were they sold or seized? Are they in a private collection or somewhere people can see them?
- During your time away, you’ve become quite the artist. Where did that come from? Did you just pick up a brush and start?
- What’s next for Randy Lanier?
- and much, much more!
After 27 years of being in prison, Randy Lanier returned to the world of Motorsports and Weed. And after that fateful weekend in 2015, Mike Carr got in touch with Randy to let him know that he had edited Randy’s Wikipedia page. Now there’s no longer the word former before race-car driver. And to quote Randy, “That really feels good.”
To learn more about Randy and his story, be sure to check out the August 2022, release of the best-selling book “Survival of the Fastest” available on Amazon in-print and on Audible. Don’t have time to read, then the Netflix documentary series BAD SPORT, specifically episode 2 entitled “The Need for Weed” brings you up to speed on Randy’s story in his own words. If you want to follow Randy, be sure to check out www.freedomgrow.org and follow him on social @randylanier27 on Instagram and @randylanier on FB and LinkedIn.
Racer/Weed Dealer Randy Lanier Recounts His Wild Ride in ‘Survival of the Fastest’
“To really be an up-front runner in racing, it takes not only a team, but a team with quite a bit of funds,” Lanier told Car and Driver on the occasion of the publication of his new memoir Survival of the Fastest: Weed, Speed, and the 1980s Drug Scandal That Shocked the Sports World, which he wrote with automotive journalist and author A.J. Baime (Go Like Hell, ).
FreedomGrow.org
FREEDOM GROW is an all-volunteer non-profit 501c3 organization. We help cannabis prisoners regain freedom while we support their sacrifices through “The Wish Program.”
The Wish Program helps prisoners with commissary money, books, magazines, family outreach, and public education.
BAD SPORT – Netflix
True crime and sports intersect in a docuseries that examines global controversies and scandals with firsthand accounts from those involved.
Six stories at the intersection of sports and crime, as told by the athletes, coaches and law enforcement officials at the center of the controversies. Check out EPISODE #2 of BAD SPORT called “The Need for Weed” and hear Randy’s story in his own words.
